


Only Time Will Tell

by archiveofourscone



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Because it's also both, F/F, Future Fic, Kid Fic, Married Couple, Pre-Relationship, THE KIDS ARE ALL GROWN UP, Time Travel, present Lena finds herself in the future, techincally
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2019-10-05 19:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17330786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archiveofourscone/pseuds/archiveofourscone
Summary: Lena felt disoriented as she came to, and she didn’t know where she was at first. It all seemed vaguely familiar, like she had been here before. She was slumped over a stainless-steel work table that was cold under her cheek, and when she pushed herself up, she saw that she was in a lab. It reminded her of the labs in L-Corp, but she didn't recognize any of the projects on the table around her.A door opened behind her, and Lena turned quickly in her chair.





	1. Back to the Future

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, and welcome to my first multi-chapter fic. I'm a bit nervous, because I've only ever done one-shots within a universe, and there's no pink, stuffed ram in this, but I'm ready to try my hand at this, and hopefully it doesn't suck.
> 
> I also have to thank my friend for helping me suss out all the details, including the title of this fic. I won't directly name her, but she knows who she is, and will probably comment down below.
> 
> Enjoy!

Lena felt disoriented as she came to, and she didn’t know where she was at first. It all seemed vaguely familiar, like she had been here before. She was slumped over a stainless-steel work table that was cold under her cheek, and when she pushed herself up, she saw that she was in a lab. It reminded her of the labs in L-Corp, but she didn't recognize any of the projects on the table around her. 

A door opened behind her, and Lena turned quickly in her chair.

The girl who came into the lab wasn’t anyone that Lena recognized, and Lena wondered if she hired someone new for R&D that she forgot about. 

The girl looked up from a file she was reading and stopped in her tracks. “Aunt Lena?”

Lena must’ve heard the girl wrong. Lex didn’t have any kids, and she didn’t have any other siblings, so there was so way she was anyone’s aunt.

“What are you still doing here?” The girl said when Lena didn’t answer, “I thought you went home an hour ago.”

Lena had no idea what to say. She tried going through the events of her day, but everything felt fuzzy and far away. She thought of all the different possibilities. She knew the multiverse theory was true since Kara told her about her adventures on Earth-1, so there was a possibility that this was another Earth. 

Lena didn't remember working on Cisco's inter-dimensional device, though, and that was the only way that would be able to happen. 

“Aunt Lena, are you okay?” The girl moved closer to Lena, but she stopped when she noticed Lena put her hand up to stop her. The girl's eyebrows came together as she looked Lena up and down, and Lena felt like there was something familiar about that look.

“You look different,” she said as she seemed to realize that Lena was not the Lena she knew. Lena watched a bit of fear flash through the girl's eyes as she took a step back, her fingers going to her watch face. 

“What Earth is this?” Lena finally found the voice to ask. 

“Earth-38,” the girl said. She looked like she was ready to run the second Lena presented a threat, and Lena wanted to tell her that she wasn't going to hurt her, but she wasn't sure she was safe herself. 

“Then where the hell am I?” Lena said, mostly to herself, as she rubbed at her temple and tried to think what else could be happening. 

“Aunt Lena?” The girl shook her head and said, “Or, I guess just Lena.”

“Yes, please, just Lena would be better.”

The girl smiled, and just like the face from earlier, Lena felt like she recognized it in some way. “Do you know how you got here?” the girl asked, looking around the lab. Lena guessed she was looking for abnormalities or some sign that might explain everything.

“I have no idea.” Lena was starting to get frustrated. It wasn’t very often that she was caught off guard. Strange things happening around and to her weren't new. Her best friend was an alien superhero, and she helped the DEO with a number of things ranging from security to alien technology. Usually though, she understood everything that was happening around her.

It looked like the girl was going to ask something else, but she reached into her pocket and took out something that looks like a phone, but it was all clear glass besides the display lit up.

“Sorry, I need to get this,” the girl told Lena and turned her back to her, holding the thin glass up to her ear. “Hey, Liv, what’s up?”

Lena watched the girl rest a fist against her waist as she talked, and it reminded Lena of Kara’s Supergirl pose. There was something a bit different about it, though. 

“Seriously?” The girl looked over her shoulder at Lena, “Yeah, I think I might know why the cause. I'll meet you there. Yeah, Liv. Bye.” The girl swiped down on the glass and fully turned around to face Lena.

“Is that a phone?”

“Uh," the girl looked confused at the question, "Yeah."

“May I see it?” Lena didn't know what she was going to do with a phone, but she figured it couldn't hurt.

The girl nodded and handed Lena her phone, and when Lena touched a finger to the glass, the display came on. There was a moving picture of the girl and someone else as the background, and a few notifications popped up.

And then, Lena froze.

“Is that the date?”

The girl got closer to Lena and looked down at her phone, and she looked back up at Lena like she didn't understand the question, “Yeah, of course.”

Lena looked back down at the display and felt sick, because the date on the phone said 23 August 2048, 30 years in the future.


	2. The Linear Disturbance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s 2048.” 
> 
> The girl took her phone back from Lena and looked at the display like she was trying to find something wrong with it. When she couldn’t find anything, she put the phone back in her pocket and came to a realization. “The disturbance Liv told me about wasn’t an interdimensional disturbance. It was time-related.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the second chapter, so much sooner than I anticipated, but I couldn't keep the ideas out of my head.
> 
> Enjoy!

“It’s 2048.” 

The girl took her phone back from Lena and looked at the display like she was trying to find something wrong with it. When she couldn’t find anything, she put the phone back in her pocket and came to a realization. “The disturbance Liv told me about wasn’t an interdimensional disturbance. It was time-related.”

Lena slumped back into the seat that she woke up in and tried desperately to fight off the rising panic. She couldn’t remember anything. She couldn’t remember what happened before she woke up in this lab, and she had no idea how she could’ve woken up _thirty years in the future_.

“Hey, Au—” the girl cut herself off and asked, “Are you okay?”

“No,” Lena said harshly, her chest tightening, “No, how can I be okay right now?”

“That’s fair.” The girl looked awkwardly around the lab trying to come up with a solution. Her fingers ran restlessly through her hair, and Lena watched her closely, trying to pick up clues to determine how she was related to Lena. There was something in her mannerisms, the small nervous ticks but overall confidence, that Lena was trying so hard to pinpoint. Nothing about her features felt familiar though.

“Well, to start, we need to get out of here,” the girl said after a few moments of silence, “Only a few people can access this lab, but we need to slip out without anyone noticing us.”

“Where are we?” Lena took deep breaths to lessen her panic, and it helped relieve the tightness in her chest.

“Your,” the girl paused, “Well, I guess not your,” she shook her head like it would help her straighten everything out, “Anyway, we’re in Lena Luthor’s personal lab at L-Corp.”

Lena looked around the lab. It didn’t look anything like her personal lab that she knew. Everything was more advanced, which was to be expected with thirty years of technological advancement, and Lena started to wonder just how far technology had come and how much she had to do with it.

“And you have access?” Lena asked, wondering if it was because the girl was apparently related to her in the future or if the girl really had the skill to help Lena on projects.  
The girl only nodded while motioning for Lena to stand up and follow her.

As Lena guessed, the lab led out into her office, but that was different too. It was warmer, more personal, and she saw framed covering her desk filled with pictures she couldn’t make out. There were even more trinkets here and there and an expensive bottle of scotch barely touched.

“Where are we going?” Lena asked as she tried to take in as much as she could before she left.

“The DEO,” the girl peeked outside the office, and when she found the assistant’s desk empty, she waved Lena through, “Liv called and told me about the disturbance and I figured the DEO is our best bet at finding out what’s going on.”

They got to the elevator at the end of the hall, and Lena followed the girl in, “Who is Liv?”

“Someone that can help. Oh,” the girl turned to Lena and offered her hand, “I’m Jules, by the way.”

Lena shook Jules’ hand and smiled, “It’s nice to meet you, Jules.” It didn’t help her figure out who this girl was, but she liked having a name to connect to her apparent niece.

“I’d say you too, but it feels confusing,” Jules said as she hit the button for the parking garage.

Lena breathed out a laugh, finally finding a bit of humor in her situation, “I think this is all a bit confusing.”

Jules smiled, “It’s definitely not what I expected to deal with at work today.”

Lena watched the red numbers at the top of the elevator count down and it dinged at their floor, the doors sliding open smoothly. Lena followed Jules to a car on the far end of the parking garage, and she took a step back as the doors slid up as Jules scanned her hand.

Her curiosity started to beat out the panic still ebbing in her system, and Lena started mentally mapping out exactly how she would build it. 

“No hover cars?” She asked instead of the thousand questions swimming in her mind.

“Sadly no,” the car started, and Jules slid her phone into some sort of port, “It is completely electrical though.”

“Are all cars like this?”

“A majority,” Jules backed up easily and left the garage, “Some people like the feel of vintage vehicles, but with the lack of demand, the price for gas has gone up more and more over the years, making it difficult to keep them.”

Soft music filled the car, and Lena didn’t recognize it at all. It seemed to be in another language, but it wasn’t one that Lena recognized.

Lena looked out at National City as they made their way to the DEO, and she thought it was amazing how similar everything seemed. The sushi restaurant she loved still sat at the corner of the block, and as they drove by CatCo, Noonan’s still stood nearby, people sitting at tables with cups of coffee and sweet pastries.

There were major differences too. Aliens walked the streets in their true form, and no one seemed to have an issue with it. At a stoplight, Lena smiled at two small children, one with blue skin and spikes down their back and the other human-looking, pointing out different things to one another with excitement.

In no time at all, Jules was turning into a tunnel that led to underground parking, and Lena got out of the car and followed Jules through rows of cars to an entrance that she recognized.

The guard on duty smiled at the both of them. “You know, pipsqueak,” he said, leaning forward on his elbows, “For someone who doesn’t work with the DEO, you sure are here a lot.”

Jules rolled her eyes, “Majors, can we please just go through?”

“I’m not stopping you, queenie,” he sat back in his seat, and then his eyes narrowed at Lena, “Miss Luthor, I thought you left already.”

“I forgot to grab something,” Lena lied easily, and Majors shrugged, even if he still looked a bit suspicious.

“By all means, then.” 

Majors motioned them through, and Lena and Jules were quick to head into the elevator before Majors figured out something was up.

The halls of the DEO were the same, and Lena found a small comfort in that. Even without Jules, she was confident she could find the command center on the top floor with ease.

Jules stopped her before they were in sight of the command center. “Wait here. I need to find Liv before we just walk not-Lena Luthor into a place filled with agents ready to assume everything is a threat.”

“Why would someone assume you’ve brought a threat into the DEO?” Someone asked from behind Jules, and Jules spun quickly, moving enough to see who it was.

Her first thought was _Kara_ , but as she looked closer, she saw it was just someone who looked eerily similar. The girl had Kara’s wavy blonde hair, but it was cropped at the shoulder instead of flowing down her back, and there were other things, like her green eyes and the strong set of her jaw, that set her apart.

“Liv,” Jules rushed forward and threw a hand over Liv’s mouth, “Please, just announce that to the entire facility.”

Liv shrugged and a smirk evident in her eyes, and then she looked past Jules at Lena, and the humor disappeared from her eyes, shock replacing it.

“Before you ask, I’ll explain, but only if you promise not to blurt out your questions before I can even say anything.”

Liv nodded, and Jules let her go. Lena could see Liv look her up and down like she was analyzing every part of Lena, and Lena wondered what differences she was looking for.

“Okay, you know the disturbance you called me about?”

“Yeah,” Liv stopped analyzing Lena and focused on Jules again, “It came up on the monitors, and I just assumed it was someone visiting from Earth-1, but it didn’t look like any interdimensional disturbance I’ve seen.”

“Because it wasn’t interdimensional,” Jules said, “It was linear.”

“Oh great,” Liv’s hand went to her temple and rubbed at it, and Lena felt a ghost of familiarity wash over her, “Who even has the capacity for time travel?”

“You would know better than me.”

“Well, I would have to check my database to see what species even have the capability or technology, and then I would have to crosscheck it with the DEO’s files of fugitives of that species,” Liv sighed, “Unless it’s accidental. Then I would have to investigate the disturbance more to determine its cause, and all I know right now is that it originated over L-Corp.”

“I found her in the private labs, if that helps.”

Liv smiled at Jules, and she ruffled her hair a bit, “That actually does, Jay.”

Jules hit Liv away, and Lena figured they were sisters or something similar, because their interaction reminded Lena of being around Alex and Kara mid-play fight. She wouldn’t be surprised if Jules retorted by pulling Liv into a playfully headlock.

“What do we do about her?” Liv asked as she tried to ruffle Jules’ hair again, “It’s not like she can stay here without us explaining.”

“Her does have a name,” Lena said finally, putting herself into the conversation.

“Yes, of course,” Liv stopped messing with Jules, and she paused before saying, “Lena.” She seemed awkward as she said it, and Lena was curious why, but before she could ask, Lena heard something drop to the floor behind her.

“Oh my god.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, there it is. I hope you liked the new chapter.
> 
> Want to theorize who just noticed Lena? Want to ask me how no one thinks it's weird that no one seems to notice Lena is super young? Then feel free to comment below, or feel free to come on over to my Tumblr, hellofromthe-otter-slide, and tell me what you think!
> 
> Until next chapter!


	3. The Imperfection of Precognition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena turned on her heels and saw Nia Nal dressed as Dreamer, a piece of tech at her feet. Behind her was Brainy, and his eyebrows came together like he was figuring out a particularly difficult math problem, but as quickly as they came together, a look of understanding replaced it.
> 
> “Oh my god,” Nia repeated, “Lena!”
> 
> “So much for not explaining,” Liv said under her breath, and Jules rolled her eyes before moving towards Brainy and Nia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here it is guys. We reveal who walked up behind Lena, Jules, and Liv. I hope some of your questions are answered, and I finally explained (lightly) why nobody was like, "Wow, Lena Luthor looks obviously very much younger than she is now." 
> 
> A sidenote as well, explaining Brainy's hand thing he does takes too many words, but when you get to it, just imagine it, okay? I wasn't going to take a full sentence to explain that thing he does on the show. Oh! And Nia is established as Dreamer in the past that I am writing, so there is that.
> 
> Also, you can pry Sanvers from my cold, dead fingers. Along with that, you can pry Lena and Maggie's friendship from my cold, dead fingers as well.
> 
> Alright, enough rambling.
> 
> Enjoy!

Lena turned on her heels and saw Nia Nal dressed as Dreamer, a piece of tech at her feet. Behind her was Brainy, and his eyebrows came together like he was figuring out a particularly difficult math problem, but as quickly as they came together, a look of understanding replaced it.

“Oh my god,” Nia repeated, “Lena!”

“So much for not explaining,” Liv said under her breath, and Jules rolled her eyes before moving towards Brainy and Nia.

“It’s not—” Jules started, but she was quickly cut off by Brainy.

“Yes, she’s not the Lena of this time. I know,” he said simply.

Liv smirked, her arms crossing over her chest, “Oh, I cannot wait to hear how Brainy deduced it.” Her body language reminded Lena of her own when she found something amusing, and it was almost weird how similar it was.

“Then allow me to explain,” Brainy’s hands came up in front of him like they always did when he had to explain something, “For one, while the serum Lena has been taking to slow down the aging process has been working magnificently, it does not reverse aging effects. It is simply meant to make her look more frozen in time, not back to her twenties.”

Lena eyebrows went up at the mention of a serum, and she wondered why she would feel the need to make something like that in the future. It wasn’t like L-Corp was in the beauty industry, so she wouldn’t have any reason to make it. 

“I also saw it,” Nia said, pulling herself into the conversation, and Lena thought about that fact that Nia didn’t look like she had aged at all. She still looked young and excitable, just like the Nia that Lena had a fondness for in her time.

“Wait, you saw it happen?” Jules asked, her eyes lighting up, “So you know how she got here.”

“Uh,” Nia laughed awkwardly, “Not exactly.”

“Nia saw this interaction at the DEO,” Brainy added on.

“My powers aren't exactly perfect,” Nia finished, "I've also seen multiple possibilities of what happens when everyone else finds out."

Jules seemed to tense up a bit, “Yeah, let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to parade young Lena Luthor out into the DEO right now?” Liv asked sarcastically, motioning her arm to the end of the hall that leads to the command center, “Because I think Aunt Alex would _love_ adding that to the list of things she has to handle right now.”

"It's not like we can include the DEO, Liv."

“We don’t even know how I got here,” Lena said, feeling slightly frustrated that that was the truth of the matter, “We don’t know what technology or abilities were used, and we don’t know whether it was an accident or if someone meant to bring me here. Do you really expect us to figure this out without the DEO?”

Liv shrugged, “All three of us are geniuses. I like our chances.” She said it in the confident way Kara talked about facing aliens and world threats, like she had faith it would all work out.

“If I may, as well,” Brainy cut in, “Because you two don’t formally work for the DEO, utilizing resources would be difficult without alerting Director Danvers or Supergirl.”

“And you know my mom would be on us like a hawk,” Jules told Liv.

Something clicked for Lena, the reason there were little things about Jules that reminded her of someone. The fists on her hips. The confidence. That familiar look that felt like it was examining and analyzing every part of Lena.

Jules was Alex and Maggie’s daughter, and Lena couldn’t believe she had missed it.

Knowing that she would still be in Alex and Maggie’s lives so far in the future sent a burst of warmth through Lena, and she assumed Jules calling her “Aunt Lena” wasn’t because of blood relation, more like how Ruby calls her “Aunt Lena.” Someone close with her moms. 

Lena did start to wonder whether she had someone, and she pushed down the hope of who she wanted it to be, because it couldn’t be her. Getting her hopes up would just be illogical.

They heard someone moving to their hallway, and everyone but Lena seemed to recognize the voice. Liv grabbed onto Lena’s arm gently and started pulling her down the hallway, and Jules tried to follow, but someone called her name.

Liv pushed Lena into one of the rooms and shut the door quickly. They could hear the conversation on the other side, but just barely.

“Jules, what are you doing here?” the voice asked, and Lena finally recognized it as Alex Danvers, “Lena told me you were going to be staying at work late.”

“I planned to, but Falcon called me about something and told me to meet her here.”

“Who is—” Lena tried to ask, but Liv shushed her quickly. She pointed to herself, and Lena noticed the deep red coat of arms of House El set against the black suit Liv was wearing. Lena hadn’t noticed it before because it looked so similar to the tactical suits that DEO agents wore, and the insignia barely stood out.

 _Well, that’s two questions answered,_ Lena thought, _As if it wasn’t obvious, Liv is definitely Kara’s daughter, and she’s a superhero as well._

“Why would you two meet here? You and Falcon don’t work for the DEO.”

“Well, seeing as she isn’t here right now, I obviously haven’t found her,” Jules said, and Lena could almost see Alex rolling her eyes in response to the snark, “Have you seen her around?”

“No, I haven’t, but I’ll be sure to send her your way if I do.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I’ll just call her and tell me to meet at the apartment.”

“Alright.” There were a few moments of silence, and then Alex asked, “You still coming over for dinner tonight? It’s been a while since your mom and I have seen you outside of working hours.”

Lena heard Jules breathe out a laugh, “Yeah, Mom. As long as Mama is still making lasagna and you’re not helping at all, I’ll be there.”

There was some movement, and Lena imagined Alex nudging Jules playfully, “I will not be helping at all.”

“Oh, thank god. I don’t think the smoke detectors can take much more.”

They both laughed, and Alex said, “I’ll see you at seven, brat.”

“Bye, Mom.”

There would footsteps, and then Lena heard Alex say something distant to Brainy and Nia before they all headed back to the command center.

There was a knock on the door, some rhythm Lena didn’t recognize, and then Liv knocked something back before opening the door.

Jules came through and took a deep breath, “Okay, let’s get out of here before we almost run into someone else.”

“Come on,” Liv said quietly, “I know the way to get out without passing by anything important.”

They snuck out and down different halls, and Lena actually found sneaking around the DEO to be kind of fun. Every other time she was there, it was because of some disaster, and she was called in to help. She didn’t get to see much besides the main areas, and now, as Liv peeked around corners and Jules motioned them on, Lena got to see far more. They passed conference rooms and small labs on their way to an elevator that looked like it was barely used.

“It’s safe, I promise,” Liv said when she noticed Lena hesitate, “I used it a lot as a kid to sneak around.”

“You were here a lot as a kid?”

Liv smiled, and it was Kara’s smile, the one that melted Lena’s inside and set her heart pounding, but on Liv, it made her feel warm in a way she didn’t understand. “When you’re the daughter of Supergirl, you tend to be at the DEO a lot.”

It felt like there was something Liv was leaving out, like who her dad was, but Lena didn’t know if she wanted to hear the answer right now, so she didn’t ask.

The elevator dinged and they rode it all the way down to the parking garage. They passed Majors on their way out, and he didn’t say anything. He just waved lazily, her focus on the monitors in front of him.

“Meet you back at our place?” Jules asked, scanning her hand.

“Bet I’ll beat you there,” Liv smirked, and then she was gone in a cloud of dust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it was! Next chapter we're heading to Jules and Liv's apartment, and Lena gets an even deeper look into the future (and maybe more of a look into her future as well).
> 
> Got any burning questions you need answered? Want to tell me theories? Then feel free to comment down below! Or, if Tumblr is more your speed, you can find me at hellofromthe-otter-slide.
> 
> Until next chapter.


	4. The French Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena’s first thought as Jules moved to let her into the apartment was that it felt like a home. It was warm and inviting, and there were small things that made it more personal. There were pictures of Jules and Liv stuck up on the fridge with people Lena didn’t recognize, all of them laughing or smiling at the camera, arms around one another. There were photos that lined the wall too, and Lena noticed that it looked like there were missing spots where photos used to hang, but she didn't think about it too much.
> 
> It felt so different to Lena’s apartment back in her own time, impersonal and minimal and barely used.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are with another chapter! (And so late at night too. Geez, guys, I should be in bed.) In this chapter, we get a peek into Jules and Liv's superhero operation, and Lena has a shock coming her way.
> 
> It has been brought to my attention that last chapter, I forgot to thank my friend who has helped me figure out details about Jules and Liv and the story itself. She's the one who came up with Falcon as Liv's superhero name (and we'll figure where it came from later, I promise. Oh, and why Jules and Liv choose not to work with the DEO). So, here I am formally apologizing to her. Please, forgive me. She helped me a bit with this chapter too, but I won't say what, since I don't want to spoil the chapter for you.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Lena’s first thought as Jules moved to let her into the apartment was that it felt like a home. It was warm and inviting, and there were small things that made it more personal. There were pictures of Jules and Liv stuck up on the fridge with people Lena didn’t recognize, all of them laughing or smiling at the camera, arms around one another. There were photos that lined the wall too, and Lena noticed that it looked like there were missing spots where photos used to hang, but she didn't think about it too much.

It felt so different to Lena’s apartment back in her own time, impersonal and minimal and barely used.

Jules threw her bag into a chair at the table and went into the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of scotch. 

Lena smirked as Jules took a long sip.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just,” Lena laughed a bit, “You are definitely Alex Danvers’ daughter.”

Jules finished the glass and poured a second, “It’s been a long day. Not only did my latest experiment completely flop, now I’m hiding a younger Lena Luthor in my apartment, and I have to have dinner with my moms in approximately an hour and pretend like everything is normal.” 

“Not to mention the fact that Aunt Maggie is totally going to know something is up,” Liv said as she came into the kitchen, changed out of her super suit and into casual clothes, “She’s like a bloodhound for lies.” She took the glass of scotch from Jules, and Jules tried to grab for it, but she wasn’t fast enough before Liv poured the rest out in the sink. Lena could almost see Kara doing the same for Alex at their last Thanksgiving, and she was almost surprised that Liv didn't try to hide the entire bottle too.

Lena expected Jules to get upset, but she just sighed as she watched the scotch go down the drain. “Really?”

“You have to drive later.” 

“My car can drive itself.”

Lena wasn’t even surprised to hear that.

“If you’re drunk, you’re definitely to rat us out.”

Jules scoffed, “I’m hurt that you think two glasses of scotch will get me drunk.”

“And you shouldn’t be using alcohol as a coping mechanism, yet here we are,” Liv turned and opened one of the cabinets, pulling out three glasses.

Without being asked to, Jules went to the fridge and pulled out a pitcher, “I don’t have a problem.”

“And we would like to keep it that way,” Liv said as she took the pitcher and poured three glasses of water before bringing one over to Lena waiting by the table.

“Can I ask why we’re keeping me a secret?” Lena asked, taking the offered glass.

“Mostly because we’re so unsure of how you got here,” Jules said, pulling herself up to sit on the counter, “Someone could be looking for you, so the fewer people who know you’re in this time, the better.”

“We also don’t know exactly what effect you being here will have on your time or ours,” Liv sat at the table, “And it’s probably best that there aren’t two Lena Luthors seen around National City. It’s bad enough that a few people saw you in the DEO.”

Lena sat across from Liv at the table and took a sip of her water. She didn’t realize how thirsty she actually was until that sip, and she downed the entire glass in a few gulps.

Liv smiled again, that same familiar smile, “Thirsty?”

“I didn’t even realize I was.”

Jules hopped off the counter and brought the pitcher to the table, “Might be an effect of the time travel.”

“It could be, but it could be that I haven’t had anything to eat or drink in a while,” Lena said while pouring herself another glass, “I have a tendency to forget.”

Liv laughed, digging in a bag on the floor and pulling out a tablet, “I’m glad that’s something you’ve always done.”

Lena had guessed that if future-her knew Jules, she probably knew Liv as well, but Liv said that with a familiarity that Lena didn’t expect. She sounded like Kara when she dropped by her office with Lena’s favorite, chastising her for focusing so deeply that she forgot to take care of herself. Liv even had the same fond, exasperated eye roll that Kara had when Lena tried to explain herself.

“Come on,” Liv said, changing the topic quickly and getting up from the table, “We need to check the computers before you have to leave, Jules.” She disappeared down the hallway, and Jules shook her head with a smile before nodding at Lena to follow.

They passed by a few open doors, and Lena curiously peeked in. The first was a bedroom, everything clean and obvious organized, every little thing having a specific spot and not even a hair out of place. Lena guessed that this was Jules’ bedroom, but she was proven wrong as she noticed Liv’s suit left across the bed. When they passed the second door, it was another bedroom, Jules’ bedroom, messy and disorganized with a work table in the corner covered in technology that was in different states of being taken apart.

Lena was almost surprised, but from what she knew of the two girls already, it seemed to make sense.

She followed Jules through the door at the end of the hall, and she was pretty sure she just walked into one of her fantasies.

The room was filled with computers and tech, and it was all so much more advanced than Lena could comprehend at first. She wanted to ask how everything worked or maybe just try and figure it out herself, and she especially wanted to sit in one of the chairs and try something out.

If she could figure out the Legion’s spaceship from a thousand years in the future, surely figuring out tech from thirty years in the future would be simple.

“I had the computer running an analysis before I went to the DEO,” Live told Jules and Lena as they came in. She was sitting in front of row of computers, all doing different things.

“Yeah, why did you say to meet you at the DEO instead of here?” Jules asked, taking the seat beside Liv. 

“Honestly? I was trying to snoop and see if they caught something our computers didn’t.” Liv pulled the chair near her out and silently offered it to Lena. Lena didn’t take her eyes off the monitors running diagnostics and checking police scanners as she sat, drinking it all in and trying to work through how each one works. She could already imagine the code she would write for each program running, and she wondered if she was even close to what the actual code looked like.

“Find anything?”

“Nothing. They caught the disturbance, but they didn’t deem it important enough to look into.”

Jules looked at the monitors and seemed to notice something, “Well, the program I wrote to discern the waves for alien technology doesn’t seem to be picking anything up related to this, so we can rule that out.”

“So, what? We assume this is some incredibly intelligent human messing with time travel?” Even as Liv said it, it sounded like she didn’t believe it.

Jules smirked, “It could be magic, too.”

Liv dropped her head into her hands and groaned, “This is definitely something a fifth dimensional being would pull for fun.”

“Fifth dimensional beings?” Lena tore her attention away from the computers, “That’s beings like Music Meister and Mxyzptlk, right?”

Liv nodded, “Horrendously annoying and very hard for Kryptonians to defeat.”

Jules pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time and started to stand up. “I have to go. If I’m late again, I think they’ll find my body in the bay. You should call Oracle, though. See if she has any ideas.” 

The name Oracle sounded vaguely familiar to Lena, like she had heard it in passing before, and for some reason, it made her think of Gotham.

Jules left with a wave, and Liv dropped her forehead against the desk. “Do you have any ideas how you got here?”

“I really wish I did.”

Liv turned her head to face Lena, her cheek smushing against the desk, and Lena smiled at how adorable it was. She was certain she had seen Kara do the same thing when she was having trouble writing an article.

“Do you want to help me come up with something to narrow it down?”

“Oh, thank god, I was waiting for you to ask,” Lena moved to the seat Jules had just been sitting in, “I think I may have some ideas for programs that’ll help.”

The two worked together, bouncing ideas off one another and making changes to the program that Lena started. Lena didn’t know what to expect but working with Liv was simple. It was almost like she was working with herself. Liv had the perfect solution to any problem Lena hit, and she voiced Lena’s ideas as Lena thought them.

They were mostly through a program to determine if the was created by technology when Liv pulled a phone from her pocket. 

She seemed to hesitate as she answered it.

“Hey, Mom. What’s up?”

Just like with Jules earlier, she could only hear Liv’s side of the conversation. She continued working on the program, but she couldn’t deny that she was trying to listen in on the conversation because she was curious. 

“Yeah, I’m home. Why are you asking?”

Liv’s eyes widened at the response, and she shot up from her seat. Lena watched her run out of the room, and she got up to follow without a second thought, worried that something might have happened.

Lena caught up to Liv just as she answered the door, and there was a voice already filling the apartment.

“I know Alex, Maggie, and Jules have their family dinner tonight,” the voice said, “and your mom is off chasing a story, so I brought your favorite, and I figured we could do a Mom-and-Liv night like we used to.”

The person came in, and Lena felt like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, because coming through the door was an older Lena Luthor carrying far too much take-out for two people. Older Lena froze at the sight of her younger self standing awkwardly in the kitchen.

As for Lena, she was on the verge of a panic attack, because she just put together the last piece of the puzzle that she kept missing. Liv, like a copy of Kara with small differences. Green eyes that mirrored Lena's, and a sharper jawline. A smirk so similar to her own, and the ease that they worked together.

She put it together so easily that Liv was Kara's daughter. It was so obvious.

She never would have guessed that Liv's other parent was Lena Luthor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it was, folks. Sorry (though, I'm really not) for the obvious mention of Oracle. I love Barbara Gordon, and it's canon that Batman exists in Kara's universe, and Superman has worked with him, so Oracle has to be there too. And Jules and Liv would totally be friends with her, even though she's probably about ten or fifteen years older than them. 
> 
> Want to tell me theories about how Lena got to the future? Want to ask me questions about Jules or Liv? Feel free to comment below, or come along over to Tumblr, where you can find me at hellofromthe-otter-slide.
> 
> Until next chapter!


	5. The Time Traveler's Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well, fuck.” 
> 
> It was Liv who broke the silence, and it felt like she was voicing everyone’s thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I struggled with this chapter a lot. Writing two Lenas was a bit more difficult than I expected, and for some reason, the words just weren't coming together like I wanted them to, so it's not my favorite thing, but here it is.
> 
> As always, a special thanks to my friend who helped me come up with Liv's backstory (and I still have to credit her with Falcon. Maybe we'll even find out why Falcon is Liv's superhero name).
> 
> Enjoy!

“Well, fuck.” 

It was Liv who broke the silence, and it felt like she was voicing everyone’s thoughts.

Lena didn’t know exactly what she was supposed to do. She wanted to run and get far away from this life that was apparently hers in the future. A life where she was with Kara Danvers, where they were married. A life where they had a daughter together.

A life where she was probably happy.

Everything started to feel overwhelming, and Lena's chest felt tight as her breaths got more sporadic. She quickly took a seat at the table before she could collapse, her hands gripping the edge of the table so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and she tried to focus on her breathing instead of everything she had just learned, hoping that would help keep from dissolving into a full meltdown.

“So,” Liv said casually, like it was normal to have two Lena Luthors in her apartment, “There’s a younger Lena Luthor in our time.” She took the bags of food from her mom and put them down on the counter, and she looked like she was waiting for her mother to react in the same way Lena was.

The older Lena seemed to be taking it well, though, staying far calmer and more collected than her younger self as she moved into the apartment and closed the door behind her.

“How did this happen?” She directed the question at Liv, but she couldn’t stop looking at Lena, her expression calculating, and Lena wondered if other people felt this uncomfortable under her gaze.

“I’m not exactly sure,” Liv said as looked between the two women, “A disturbance came up on the computers, but I couldn’t find anything definitive. Jules was the one who found her.

“Have you told the DEO?”

Liv looked down at the counter, and Lena watched her older self roll her eyes.

“Olivia—”

“Jules and I were handling it.”

“Of course,” older Lena moved into the kitchen to stand by her daughter, “Because you and Jules have the right technology to determine how this happened and how to help her get back to her own time.”

“We already ruled out alien technology,” Liv argued, taking the same defensive stance Lena used in board meetings and press conferences to stand her ground, “And we were working on a program to distinguish whether it was magic or not.”

The older Lena crossed her arms, “You could just use the programs the DEO has already made.”

“No, I can’t, seeing as I don’t work for them.”

Older Lena pinched the bridge of her nose, and Lena felt they were falling into an argument they have had before, neither of them willing to stand down.

“I don’t get why you won’t come work for the DEO.” It was said with exasperation and a sigh, and Lena wondered how many times her older self had said that to her daughter hoping for some sort of answer she never seemed to get. “You would have a whole team backing you, not to mention your family, and you would be so much safer than you are now. Plus, you would have access to all the technology that would make being Falcon easier.”

Liv turned away, and Lena saw something in Liv’s expression that felt so familiar, but she couldn't exactly place it.

“I also wouldn’t ever exist outside of Supergirl’s shadow,” Liv said, “I would be expected to be just like her, and I just don’t know if Supergirl is who I’m meant to be, Mom.”

“You don't have to be Supergirl. You could still be Falcon.”

“No, I couldn't. I would just be another Kryptonian, another Super, and that’s not what I want. I want to be a hero outside of who I’m expected to be. Don’t you understand that?”

That's what Lena recognized. It was the need to be something else outside of everyone's expectations. She saw the same fire that fighting for the Luthor name had kindled lighting in Liv's eyes, a need to prove herself outside of her family's name and legacy.

“I just want to be someone other than Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor’s daughter,” Liv said quietly, the fire burning into a desperate need for her mother to understand what she was trying to say.

“Hey, love, come here,” the older Lena said softly as she pulled her daughter against her. Lena watched Liv melt into the embrace, her eyes closing as her mother said, “You just used to be so excited at the idea of working alongside your mom. I just don’t understand what changed.”

Liv’s eyes opened, and it looked like there was something she wanted to say, like there was something she had been holding back, and Lena wondered what was stopping her.

“Can we just table this argument for now?” Liv asked instead, her eyes catching Lena’s across the room.

“Fine,” Lena’s older self pulled back from the hug and tucked a few stray strands of hair behind Liv’s ear, “Let’s see if we can’t figure some more out before we take this to the DEO.”

“Do we have to involve the DEO?”

“Yes, Liv, we do,” the older Lena moved away from Liv and came over to the table to take a seat, “Now, could you pinpoint where the disturbance came from?”

With her older self sitting directly across from her, Lena’s panic started to bubble up again, because there was no denying that this was her. Sure, she looked older, but every expression, everything, even down to the smallest detail, was Lena. It was like she was looking into a mirror, and as much as she hoped this was a dream, that she would wake up any second now, she knew without a doubt that she wouldn’t.

Liv came in from the kitchen and took the seat beside Lena, and it felt like Liv’s silent way of telling her that she was there if Lena needed her. “I couldn’t pinpoint it, but Jules found her in your personal lab at L-Corp.”

The older Lena’s eyes went wide, “Are you sure it was my personal lab?”

“Yeah,” Liv looked confused, “Why?”

She didn’t answer Liv’s question. Instead, she focused specifically on Lena and asked, “What was the last thing you remember before waking up in that lab?”

“Um,” Lena looked between her older self and Liv as she tried to remember, “I remember arriving at L-Corp and Jess giving me my schedule for the day, but everything feels really hazy after that.”

“Do you remember the date?”

“The twelfth, I think.”

Lena watched a realization wash over her older self, and Liv seemed to notice too, because she asked, “Mom, why is that all important?”

“Because,” Lena didn’t expect her older self to smile as she said, “This all may or may not be my fault.”

“This isn’t you taking the blame for something that’s totally not your fault, is it?”

“No, not at all. It’s just,” older Lena shrugged a bit, “I was working with some technology today that uses DNA to show glimpses of the past or the future, and I did the first test run of it today.”

“Did you use Dokris technology as the base, or did you start from your own designs?” Liv asked, but before her mother could answer, she shook her head and said, “Wait, no, I should be asking how you’re sure.”

“Well, it’s not definitive, but I used my own DNA, and I used the twelfth as my test date.”

“Why?” Lena asked, “Is there something significant about that date?” Lena couldn’t remember anything important happening. From what she could remember, her day was full of board meetings and paperwork, the only break from work being the hour she set aside for lunch with Kara.

“It’s significant, because I asked Kara out on our first date on the twelfth,” older Lena smiled softly, “The test didn't seem to work, though. It took a sample of my blood like it was supposed to, but the screen remained black, so I just assumed that it had failed."

“It didn’t fail. It just didn’t exactly work like it was expected,” Lena said, finding comfort in focusing on the scientific explanation instead of everything else, “Instead of showing you the memory, it reached through time and literally pulled me from that point instead.”

“Which means I must’ve wired it incorrectly, though I’m unsure how.”

None of them got the chance to voice their ideas, though, because the apartment door opened suddenly, and Jules walked in followed by Alex, Maggie, and Kara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it was! We know a little bit more about how Lena got to the future, and we even got a bit more backstory about Liv, which was fun to write. Next chapter features the moment everyone has been waiting for: Lena interacting with an older Kara Danvers. Should be exciting, I think.
> 
> Want to ask me how hard it was trying to distinguish between older and younger Lena? Want to tell me how you think everyone will react? Let me know down in the comments, or if you prefer Tumblr, feel free to bop on over to hellofromthe-otter-slide and hit me up.
> 
> Until next chapter!


	6. Time's Convert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maggie pointed between the two Lenas, a look of disbelief on her face, “Oh my god. You weren’t kidding, kid. There’s two of them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, everyone, she says casually, like it hasn't been over a month that she hasn't added onto this fic.
> 
> Okay, so, I've got a few excuses. I moved. I've been really busy with teaching and taking more responsibility and whatnot. I've been surprisingly social. Writing in general just wasn't coming to me lately.
> 
> I am genuinely sorry that it took this long to get this chapter out. I'm going to try and make a schedule and keep to it, so the next chapter will hopefully be out sometime next week or two. I don't want to make promises (since I'm pretty sure I promised last time that the chapter would be out soon, and in no world is "soon" over a month later).
> 
> This chapter includes a bit more explanation, Lena finally feeling less awkward around everyone, and Alex Danvers jokingly annoyed at the antics of her daughter and niece.
> 
> Enjoy!

Lena truly thought being in the same room as everyone would send her into an even deeper panic, but she was surprisingly calm as everyone clambered in. Her gaze stuck on an obviously older Kara devoid of winkles and grey hairs but confident in a way that Lena's Kara wasn't. Unlike the obvious split that Lena saw between her Kara and Supergirl, this Kara was like Supergirl and her finally melded into one complete self.

Lena couldn’t help but think it suited her. 

Maggie pointed between the two Lenas, a look of disbelief on her face, “Oh my god. You weren’t kidding, kid. There’s actually two of them."

“I knew you couldn’t be trusted,” Liv said, and even though it sounded accusatory, Lena noticed that there wasn't actually any bite to Liv's words.

“It’s not my fault, I swear,” Jules argued, taking a seat at the bar, “Mom brought up that she saw me at the DEO, and then Mama asked why I was even at the DEO and then everything just," Jules sighed and slumped in her chair, " _spiraled_."

“She’s making it sound like it took a while to get it out of her,” Maggie said, the same cocky smirk Lena recognized from Game Night pulled across her lips, “Three questions in and she squealed.”

“Because Jules can’t keep secrets,” Alex tacked on, smiling fondly at her daughter.

“Hey, I played it off really well in the DEO earlier,” Jules argued halfheartedly. Then she turned on Liv and said, “Also, you spilled too, seeing as Aunt Lena was sitting across from Lena when we came in.”

“I didn’t spill,” Liv shot back, “My mother is a certified genius, so she found out.”

Older Lena snorted, and when everyone turned to look at her, she said, “I came over with Chinese food and found a younger version of myself hidden here.”

“Can we all just agree that our kids suck at keeping secrets from us and discuss the elephant in the room?” Alex asked, gesturing to Lena.

“I am right here, you know,” Lena said, finally feeling at least a bit like herself again, enough that she was tired of everyone talking around her instead of to her, “And I don’t think I really appreciate being referred to as an elephant.”

“You know, Luthor,” Maggie said, coming to take the seat beside the older Lena and wrapping a lazy arm around her shoulders, “I don’t think your personality has changed much.”

“Firstly, Sawyer,” older Lena brushed off Maggie’s arm, nudging her away playfully, “It’s Danvers now, and secondly, she has a point.”

Lena smiled at the familiarity of the banter between the two. She could practically see herself on Kara’s couch, Monopoly or some other board game on the coffee table in front of them, and Maggie slinging an arm over her shoulder to give some playful smack talk even though Lena generally won in the end.

It seemed like her pseudo-sisterhood with Maggie only got stronger as they got older, Maggie seemingly more comfortable with poking fun at Lena and Lena handling it with an eye roll and a quick retort.

“You’ll always be Luthor,” Maggie explained as if it were something serious, “We’ve already got Little Danvers, and then there’s Baby Danvers,” she gestured to Liv, who sighed in defeat, and Lena wondered how many times Liv fought that nickname growing up, “Referring to you as some other form of Danvers would make too many, so I’ll stick with Luthor.”

Older Lena looked like she wanted to retort, but Kara finally moved herself into the group, her blue eyes stuck on the younger version of her wife like she couldn’t believe that Lena was really there, sitting at the table alongside them.

To be fair, Lena was also still grasping with the fact that she was really there, in 2048, surrounded by older versions of the small family she built since moving to National City.

“Do you know how you got here?” Kara asked tentatively, like she didn't know how to talk to Lena or if she should talk to her any different than how she talked to her wife.

“We were just discussing that actually,” Lena said, “And we have some idea, though it isn’t certain.”

“What’s your best guess?” Alex asked, leaning against the bar by Jules.

“That it might possibly be my fault,” older Lena took over, “I’ve been working on a sort of time machine as my personal project recently. You put a date in, give it a DNA sample, and it projects the events of that day onto a screen for you to watch.”

“We think that something must have gone wrong, obviously,” Lena continued, “The date I was pulled from was the same date she used to test the machine today.”

“What went wrong?” Jules asked, “It has to be something major for the machine to mess up this badly.”

“I don’t know,” older Lena said, and Lena could see her older self growing frustrated, “I checked and rechecked the wiring a hundred times. I wouldn’t have tested it if I thought there was a chance at it malfunctioning.”

“Could you have made a mistake?” Maggie asked, and she didn’t even flinch at the glare Lena shot her.

“I don’t make mistakes.”

Everyone took a second, and it was Liv who spoke next. “Is there anyone who would have access to tamper with the device?” she asked, and Lena thought that she looked like Alex in an interrogation, her mind focused on finding the answer and asking the right questions to get there.

“No,” older Lena pinched the bridge of her nose, and Lena knew it was because of the small snnoyance of being asked a question that seemingly had an obvious answer. She did the same thing when questioned about her or L-Corp's participation in any crime that had any trace of Lex. Older Lena let out a sigh before saying, “It’s in my personal lab, so the only people who have access to that room are Jules, Jess, Eve, and myself. All of the locks are biometric, and if anyone else tried getting in, I would be notified immediately.”

“That may not stop certain species of aliens, though,” Kara said, “I mean, J’onn’s shapeshifting is down to the molecular level, and there are plenty of other species that have that capability. They would be able to shift into anyone, including you, in order to make it past the biometrics.”

“Not to mention aliens who can phase through objects,” Liv provided, “With that capability, they would be able to come in from the floor below without being noticed, and there wouldn’t be any data proving a break in.”

“Alright,” Alex said, her demeanor switching to Director Danvers, “We need the list of people who used the biometrics to get into your personal lab,” she said to the older Lena, “We'll also need the security footage and the machine too. If we can figure out what went wrong with the test, we can hopefully figure out how to fix this.” Then, Alex turned to Maggie and Liv, “I need a list of aliens apprehended by the NCPD that would have any capabilities that would allow them to get through Lena’s biometrics.”

“I think I would be better asking around if anyone knows anything,” Liv said, “After all, I know an alien language or two, and it might be a hired job.”

Alex looked like she wanted to argue, but there was something deeper, the knowledge that Liv wasn’t a member of the DEO that she could order around, and she just sighed and nodded. “Be careful, though. And take Kara with you.”

Kara and Liv smiled at one another, the thrum of excitement passing between them like the chance to work together only happens every now and then. Based on the conversation Lena heard earlier, about how Liv didn’t work with the DEO to keep herself from Supergirl’s shadow, she figured that was probably true.

“Jules, you’re with me,” Alex continued giving orders, “I’ll need you helping Brainy out with studying the disturbance and seeing what else we can’t find out about it. And Lena,” Alex sighed, “Younger Lena, you’re with me too. Once Lena,” Alex sighed again, and Maggie laughed softly, mumbling something like, _We might need to give you two nicknames_ , under her breath, “Older Lena, gets back to the DEO with the time machine, it wouldn’t hurt to have two genius Lena Luthors workings on it to fix it.”

Older Lena smirked at her younger self, “To make it easier, I could be Lena and you could be Luthor.”

Lena smirked too, no longer feeling as uncomfortable sitting across from herself, “But then how would Maggie tell us apart?”

“My vote is on Luthor and Little Luthor,” Maggie added in.

“I’ve already got this handled,” Liv said, and she pointed at older Lena, “This one is Mom,” then at younger Lena, “This one is Lena.”

“She’s not our mom, Baby Danvers,” Maggie said.

“How about Before and After?” Jules suggested.

“Before and after what?” Liv asked.

“Marrying Aunt Kara,” Jules said like it was obvious, “Duh.”

“I’m actually apparently from hours before we even started dating,” Lena said, finding comfort in the banter that was so similar to the banter between them in her time.

“We could just call them Workaholic and Slightly-Less-of-a-Workaholic,” Kara supplied, and both Lenas gave her mock-offended looks, older Lena hitting her wife's shoulder with a quick, "Hey!" Kara smiled, first at Lena and then at her wife, her nose doing that adorable scrunch it always did, and Lena felt a weird sort of homesickness wash over her, wishing to see the same smile on her Kara.

“Excuse me,” Alex cut in, looking annoyed at how the conversation derailed, “You know, we have things to do. I gave you all assignments.”

“Sorry, Director Danvers,” Jules said, standing and saluting her mother jokingly. Lena had to hide a smile behind her hand, and she noticed Liv doing the same thing beside her. “Now, everyone,” Jules turned to the rest of the room, mimicking Alex’s body language and looking stern, “No more joking around. Any questions?”

“No, Director Danvers-Sawyer,” Liv said, biting her lip against the smile threatening to break through.

“Good,” Jules put her fists on her hips, mirroring Alex's usual stance, “Let’s move out.”

“Why are you two like this?” Alex asked rhetorically, casting an annoyed look between her daughter and her niece.

“Well, I was raised by Maggie Sawyer,” Jules answered with a shrug.

“And I’m pretty sure I get this from both of my moms,” Liv tacked on.

“Everyone just loves poking fun at you, babe,” Maggie said, getting up from her seat to kiss Alex on the cheek. It seemed to take away a bit of Alex’s annoyance, and she smiled softly at her wife for a quick second before addressing the room again.

“Does anyone actually have any questions?”

Nobody said anything.

“Great. Let’s move out.”

Maggie kissed Alex’s cheek again, saying something softly before leaving the apartment.

Kara turned to Liv, “Civilian clothes or suits?”

“Civilian,” Liv pushed herself up from the table, “There are a few places where they already know me, and I don’t think anyone would willingly say anything to Supergirl or Falcon.”

Kara nodded before smiling, “It would still be faster if we fly there.”

Liv was already running to the room down the hall where Lena noticed a balcony with a shout of, “Bet I can beat you there!” thrown over her shoulder. Kara ran after her, far quicker than any human could move.

Older Lena already had her phone out as she pushed herself up from the table. “Hey, Jess, I know it’s late,” she said, sounding apologetic, “Do you think you could email me the security footage from my office and personal lab?” Lena could hear less and less of the conversation as her older self gathered her things and left the apartment too.

“Come on,” Alex said, motioning to Lena and Jules, “Let’s get to the DEO. The sooner we figure this out, the better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, as always, thank you so much for reading.
> 
> Want to guess who could've tampered with Lena's machine? Have any ideas what's going to happen next? Let me know down below, or, if Tumblr is more your speed, you can find me at the ever-hilarious hellofromthe-otter-slide.
> 
> Until next chapter!


	7. Gathering Intel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team tries to gather intel and figure out just what's going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Been a bit. What about that finale, huh? And the reveal? Wild.
> 
> I know, I know, it's been a lot longer than I said it would be, but I ended up applying to grad school (I got in, too!) and doing some traveling as well, so this fic got put on the backburner.
> 
> In this chapter, we've got some moments between Liv and Kara and Jules at the DEO.
> 
> Enjoy!

Liv Danvers loved flying. Since she was a kid, even before her powers came in, Kara would always take her out when there wasn’t any danger, holding Liv close to her chest, right against the House of El’s coat of arms, as they flew high over National City.

When she got her powers, she didn’t care about heat vision or freeze breath or super strength. Those were all things she had to control. Her heat vision would flare when she was angry, her freeze breath could drop the temperature of the room, and her super strength would smash whatever was in her hand before she even realized what happened.

Even x-ray vision and super hearing gave her headaches despite the lead-lined glasses constantly perched on her nose. Just like with her mother and Kal, x-ray vision was the first of her powers to come in. She remembered being in the kitchen with Lena, helping her cook dinner and waiting for Kara to come home, when she looked up at her mother and saw Lena’s skeleton instead. She had panicked, flinching away from her mom and clamping her eyes shut. 

Her super hearing was almost the worst of all, because even as high up as the Danvers’ apartment was over National City, Liv always struggled blocking out the ambient noise of the city. She remembered wondering how humans could be so _loud_ without realizing it and how Kara had grown so used to it.

All of that, all of the control she had to have on a daily basis, felt almost exhausting in a way she would never actually feel under Earth’s yellow sun.

Flying, though. Flying she didn’t have to control. Flying felt as natural as walking, her feet lifting off the earth without any trouble and lifting her higher than any human could reach.

It was something she did to clear her head after a long night of studying for finals or a particularly hard day. There was just something about being high up in the stratosphere, far enough away that only the clouds could touch her, that made Liv feel safe.

And flying with her mom was always one of her favorite things to do. 

Liv flipped in the air, her hands going out to run through the wispy clouds as she looked at her mother over her shoulder. “You’re getting slow in your old age, Supergirl,” Liv called with a smirk, “Do you need me to slow down for you? Maybe let you catch up?”

“Very funny, Zhinah,” Kara said the honorific teasingly, catching up to Liv easily, “I’m just going easy on you.”

“My super hearing can pick up your joints creaking. Maybe you should talk to Mom, see if she can make knee replacements that’ll withstand the superhero lifestyle.”

“You know, it’s a wonder you look so much like me when your humor is so much like Lena,” Kara said, and Liv knew she meant it playfully, but Kara said it with this soft smile, like Liv having Lena's personality was one of Kara's favorite things.

Liv soared higher in the sky, just above Kara, and closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the cool air. “Funny you should say that. Aunt Maggie just made the same comment the last time she visited my precinct.”

“You don’t say.” Liv didn’t open her eyes, but she could imagine Kara’s eye roll perfectly paired with a fond smile. 

It was a look she saw a lot growing up, generally directed at her when Liv got up in trouble for whatever mischief she inevitably got up to.

“She said it was strange to look at Kara Danvers and hear Lena Luthor’s snark,” Liv said with a shrug, “All things considered, I’ll take it as a compliment.” Liv also remembered Maggie making some backhanded comment about Liv wearing one of Lena’s Armani dresses paired with her high Louis Vuitton heels the next time Maggie saw her, but Liv just retorted that she’ll just stick with her jeans and sensible footwear.

“How has work been, by the way?” Kara asked. When Liv looked down at her, she saw that Kara was flying with her back to the earth, looking up at Liv with a soft smile. “We haven’t really seen each other in a while.”

“Work has been fine,” Liv said, shrugging, “Nothing too exciting has been happening in National City apparently, so there haven’t been that many cases coming across my desk.”

“There _has_ been a decrease in alien activity,” Kara said, and it sounded like she was thinking out loud more than anything, “There hasn’t been anything for me to handle.”

“Jules and I haven’t picked up anything either,” Liv said, slowly stopping and watching Kara do the same, “Do you think that has anything to do with everything going on?”

“It could be,” Kara rolled her eyes, “It would be just like National City to go quiet right before something bad happened.”

Liv watched her mom for a second.

“Is it weird?” Liv asked softly, and even with the wind blowing around them, she knew Kara could hear, “Having a younger Mom here, I mean.”

“Rao, it’s _so_ weird,” Kara said, laughing a bit, “Not only because there were two Lenas in your dining room. It just,” Kara looked around like she didn’t exactly know what to say, “It felt like I was shot back in time, like I was back in your mother’s office with Kal and she told me that she hoped that wouldn’t be the last time we talked.”

“She’s not from _that_ early on in your relationship, is she?”

“No, not if she’s from the day Lena asked me on our first date,” Kara smiled to herself, and even though Liv knew the stories, had been told that story a thousand times, she wondered what part of it Kara was remembering, “We were friends for a while before we ever started dating.”

“Mom claimed that she knew she loved you the second you walked through her office door.”

Kara laughed lightly, “Maybe not love, but there was definitely something that kept pulling us together.”

“My guess is crime,” Liv joked, starting to drop down through the atmosphere.

“Oh, so much,” Kara followed, “The second time I saw Lena, I was breezing by Jess to ask if she knew who Roulette was and how I could find an underground alien fighting syndicate.” 

“I’m sure Jess loved that," Liv said sarcastically.

“She dealt with many things while being your mother’s assistant,” Kara said with a smile, “I’m sure she much prefers being head of L-Corp’s security systems now. Fewer Kara Danvers to deal with.”

As they left the clouds, Liv voiced aloud, “She looks so much like her, though. Has Mom really changed so little in thirty years?”

“I mean, I guess the serum helps with that,” Kara said, thinking of all the small things she noticed with both versions of Lena in front of her, “But she is a lot different. It’s just the little things you might not notice.”

“Like what?” Liv asked as they landed lightly in an alley across from National City’s most popular alien bar.

“Like,” Kara sighed, “Your mother, now, stands a lot taller than she used to. The Lena that Jules found, she’s still trying so desperately to prove to everyone that she isn’t a Luthor like her mother and brother. It would eat away at her, and it seemed like no matter how much she helped, how often she saved the city, the public would turn on her the second anything bad came out, whether it was true or not.”

“I guess that’s why Mom didn’t want to keep her last name,” Liv mused, looking around the alley to make sure they were alone.

“When we got married, I told her she should, that I meant it when I said the Luthor name didn’t deserve her.”

“Really?” Liv was surprised. The few times she asked about it, Lena always made it sound like it was the obvious answer. She never would have guessed Kara would tell Lena differently.

“Of course,” Kara said, “As much as she hates to admit it, the Luthor last name does give her a sort of power, and I didn’t want her to lose that. I had no idea what it would do to L-Corp, and she spent so much time rebuilding it and making it a force for good. What if becoming a Danvers changed that?”

“It helps that the media apparently never got the memo.”

Kara smiled, “Anytime she sees herself referred to as Lena Luthor, she always angrily says that the least they could do is get her last name right.”

“So, what was Mom’s argument in the end?” Liv asked, “For why she took your last name.”

“She told me that being a Danvers meant more to her than being a Luthor," Kara said softly, like she still couldn't believe it after all these years, "She reasoned that she would rather come from love than hate.”

Liv remembered Lena telling her about something Lex said to her once, so long ago, about how the Luthor family stands only in the dark, but Lena would always fall into the light.

She wondered if that had anything to do with Lena’s choice.

The two quickly threw civilian clothes over their suits and made their way across the street to the bar glowing with fluorescent signs.

“Who exactly are we looking for here?” Kara asked, looking around them as Liv pushed the door to the bar open.

“I know a guy who frequents this place.” The noises of the bar hit them as they came in, and both of them took a moment to adjust to the beating thrum of music and aliens drunkenly yelling to one another. “He tends to keep himself informed about more questionable alien activity,” Liv added on as she walked to the bar, Kara not far behind her.

“So, he’s a criminal,” Kara said as they sat.

Liv smiled, “He would beg to differ.”

Liv got the attention of the bartender, a tall Korugarian with deep magenta skin and pointed ears, and he smirked as he made his was way over.

“Well, if it isn’t Detective Olivia Danvers,” he set his elbows on the bar between them, his chin resting in his palm, “What brings her highness down to my lowly bar for the third time this month?”

Liv noticed Kara turn and look at her, but she ignored it, not wanting to answer Kara’s questions right that second. “Have you seen Nereus tonight?”

He didn’t answer Liv’s question. Instead, his eyes shot over to Kara, whose pastel button-up didn’t exactly blend in with the dark, dingy atmosphere of the bar like Liv’s leather jacket did. “Who’s your friend, Danvers?”

“Just answer my question, Thaal.”

“She looks a hell of a lot like you,” Thaal said, completely ignoring Liv now, then his hand went over his heart dramatically, “Oh my, do we have _the_ Kara Danvers here in my humble bar tonight? Why didn’t you mention you were bringing National City royalty with you?”

Liv clenched her fist on the bar, happy that she wasn’t holding anything that would’ve been crushed, “It was a simple question.”

“I didn’t know the NCPD planned mother-daughter cases now,” he turned back to Liv and pinched her cheek, only stopping when Liv caught his wrist and roughly shoved him away. Thaal caught his footing, his hands going up in surrender. “God, okay. Nereus is in the corner there but watch yourself. I didn’t recognize any of the people he’s with. They may not take kindly to a detective coming up and asking questions.”

Liv left without any response, Kara following right behind her. Liv was dead set on going to the part of the bar that Thaal pointed to, but her mom’s hand on her shoulder stopped her, and Kara pulled her off to the side, away from the loud drunken aliens and chaos.

“Inah—”

“Ieiu, please,” Liv breathed out, “I’m not really in the mood for a lecture.”

“I’m not going to lecture,” Kara said, and when Liv looked down, Kara tilted her chin up gently so that Liv had to look at her, Kara’s eyes soft when she smiled, “Really, I’m not. I just don’t think you should go in aggravated. It doesn’t seem like the best plan.”

“I know.”

Kara ran her thumb over Liv’s cheek before dropping her hand and looking out across the room. “Now, which one is Nereus?”

“Hykraian in the corner,” Liv pointed, and Kara turned to see a large man, his skin covered in fish-like scales and large fins running over his head and arms, “Just like Thaal mentioned, though, I don’t really recognize any of the people around him.”

“Well, they look human,” Kara observed, “That doesn’t exactly give us any impression of who they are, though.”

“Could be shapeshifters.”

“Or just humanoid like you and me.”

“I’m going to talk to him alone,” Liv decided, and before Kara could argue, she added, “You don’t exactly blend in, and if Thaal recognized you that quickly, it won’t take Nereus very long either.”

“Fine, but I’m going to be listening in.”

“I would hope so. You’re kind of my back-up if things go sideways,” Liv joked, giving Kara one last smile before pushing off the wall and going over.

Nereus gave her a sharp-toothed smile when he saw her, but the others around him seemed wary of her, one even reaching for his belt where Liv assumed he probably had a weapon. “Danvers!” Nereus said loudly, his arms sweeping out in his usual welcome, “It’s been a long time, my little minnow. I was starting to miss you.”

“How sweet, Nereus,” Liv said, her voice flat, “I can’t say I return the sentiment.”  
He laughed and shoved the guy sitting next to him. “Oh, come on, Danvers. If you didn’t miss me, you wouldn’t keep coming back.”

“I keep coming back for information.”

“I’m hurt, truly,” Nereus said, his cheery demeanor melting away and becoming all business, “What do you need from me now, detective?”

The other people around him turned on Liv when he called her detective, watching her closely. She tried looking for something, anything, that might give her an idea of who they were, but there was nothing. They just looked like seemingly normal humans.

“There are aliens messing with L-Corp technology,” Liv said, ignoring the looks and trying to be as vague as possible, “Know anything about it?”

“So, this is a personal case,” Nereus laughed, “Did mother dearest herself ask you on this little mission?”

Liv tried not to show any outward sign of being bothered, but the way Nereus referred to Lena, it made Liv want to throw him into deep space.

That wasn’t necessarily an uncommon feeling she had around Nereus though.

Liv didn’t answer, and Nereus rolled his eyes.

“Fine, fine,” he placated her. Then, he stood, coming right up into Liv’s personal space. “I might just have the information you’re looking for, Danvers,” he said, soft enough that only they could hear, “For a price.”

~*~

Jules loved working alongside Brainy. Being around him, working on programming and software, it was all just so easy when half of the team was organic technology.

It was a relationship she knew her moms never expected. When they first took her in, Jules was quiet and withdrawn, not really understanding how to handle everything that had happened to her at such a young age. Alex and Maggie had tried so many things. They tried therapy, which seemed to just make Jules close off more, and introducing her to Liv, which helped, if minimally. None of it seemed to work, though.

Until her moms introduced her to Brainy.

He was awkward in a way Jules found endearing, and the first time they met, Brainy looked at her like he was unsure what to even do with her. Finally, he asked, “Would you like to help me examine our recent acquirement of unknown alien technology?”

Alex told Brainy that that wasn’t exactly an activity fit for a child, but to almost everyone’s surprise, even Brainy’s, Jules wanted to. Jules followed Brainy down into the inventory of the DEO, and Brainy started rambling as he took different tech apart, telling Jules what he knew and what he was learning, and Jules filed every little bit of information away, never knowing when or if it would ever be useful, but loving just knowing. 

The two worked well together. Jules found Brainy’s rambling endearing, even as she grew up and started to understand the science behind it more and more. 

On Jules’ quieter days, Brainy was more than happy to fill the long silences, and even though Jules loved the rest of her family, loved her moms and how safe she felt around them, loved Liv and how she always protected Jules, loved Kara and Lena’s support, Brainy just seemed to understand without needing any explanation.

It was nice. It made Jules’ life just that much easier.

That made Jules the perfect candidate to work alongside Brainy now, no matter how frustrating he was currently being.

“Did you—”

“Yes, Brainy,” Jules said, rolling her eyes as she looked at him, “I did.”

“You didn’t allow me to finish my question.”

“You were going to ask if I double-checked the addition I made to your code that determined the exact cause of the disturbance tracked by the DEO,” Jules said, looking back at the lines of code up on the screen, “I don’t have to be a twelfth level intellect to know that’s what you were going to ask.”

“Did you?”

Jules turned the monitor towards him, “Would you like to check the code that I already double _and_ triple checked? Because no matter how much you check it, it’s still not going to give us anything more specific.”

Brainy read through the code quickly, his eyebrows coming together. “Yes, there aren’t any errors—” he missed Jules small smile at that, “—and you’re right. It still just tells us that the cause is alien in origin, and there are any number of species who have time traveling capabilities. Just alphabetically there’s—”

Jules heard someone laugh behind her, and she turned to see Lena biting her lip at her and Brainy’s conversation.

“I’m glad you find this amusing,” Jules said as Brainy continued listing, not even realizing he was essentially talking to himself, “This is a usual occurrence with us.”

Lena made her way around the middle console and over to the computer Jules was sat in front of. “Mind if I take a look?” Lena asked, “It’s not like I have much to do before my older self gets back with the device. Maybe a new set of eyes would help.” When Lena said _my older self_ , her head tilted in a way that felt so similar to Jules, like she almost couldn’t believe what she was saying out loud. Jules had been on the receiving end of that particular gesture so many times, usual as an accomplice to Liv’s grand adventures, and it was weird knowing that that was something Aunt Lena always did.

“Please,” Jules offered, scooting away from the computer to give Lena space. She turned in her chair a bit, cutting off Brainy’s listing to ask, “What exactly are the chances of us figuring out the exact species of alien that did this?”

Brainy’s hands came together, fingertips barely touching. “As of right now, it would appear that we have a 42% chance of success.”

“And if we fail?”

Brainy looked between Jules and Lena before saying, “Well, in the event of failure, Lena from 2018 would be stuck in 2048, meaning she never asked Kara Danvers on a date all those years ago—”

“Which means that the timeline would be completely screwed,” Jules finished for him around a sigh.

Lena turned from the computer, her brows coming together. “How badly would that mess up the timeline?”

“Well, you have been an integral figure in the construction of the future,” Brainy said in his usual disaffected way, “So, without Lena Luthor to build the future we know now, there is no telling what will happen to our time.”

“Even just looking at past instances,” Jules added, “Barry Allen messed with the timeline and permanently changed different aspects on Earth One.”

Lena turned back to the computer, and Jules recognized a new determination as she read through the code. Jules let her work, just idly twisting herself around in her chair and watching Brainy get up and look at the other monitors around the main area.

She didn’t know how long she was sitting there before she leaned her head back on the chair and watched Falcon and Supergirl touch down on the DEO’s balcony.  
Jules was up in a second. “Please tell me you guys found something out. Working on the code has been pointless.”

“We did,” Liv said, stopping right at the middle console, Kara right behind her, “We need to get everyone back here now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, there it is (I feel like I say that after every chapter). I hope you guys liked it, and I hope you enjoyed getting these smaller interactions.
> 
> Also, I've got something written about Jules' backstory and how Maggie and Alex came to adopt her. It probably won't make it into the actual fic besides small mentions, so if you'd like to see that, let me know, and I'll post it either on here as a series or on Tumblr.
> 
> Also, just to let y'all know, this fic probably won't get updated again until July. I wrote every main part of this fic down in a notebook that I left at home in the US while I'm here in Germany, and I don't go home until the end of June, so I'm sorry, but it is what it is. I hope this chapter suffices in the meantime!
> 
> Also, in case you didn't look up Kryptonian in order to write this fic like me, inah translate to daughter, zhinah translate to female heir (in this case, I'm using it as a sort of sarcastic "your highness"), and ieiu translate to mom or mother. As for the aliens, all of the species mentioned do actually show up through the DC universe. Thaal is actually the name of Sinestro (but I promise this isn't Sinestro), so if you're a Green Lantern fan, you'll know what he looks like. As for the others, feel free to look them up, but it isn't important. Nereus is a big fish man.
> 
> So, what aliens are messing with Lena Luthor? Will younger Lena ever make it back to her time? Feel free to comment below, or, if Tumblr is more your speed, you can find me at hellofromthe-otter-slide.
> 
> Until next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, there's the first chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it, and I hope you can't wait for the next chapter. I'm going to try and update weekly, but I work, so it might be biweekly.
> 
> Want to talk to me about the fic? Want to tell me theories (even though it's only the first chapter)? Comment below, or come find me on Tumblr at hellofromthe-otter-slide.
> 
> Until next chapter!


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